About This Book ........................................................................................................................................... 4Meeting the Science Standards ...................................................................................................................... 7

Shoe Box Learning Centers Checklist ............................................................................................................ 8

Shoe Box Learning Center Topic Page

Life Science

Critter Sort ................................................. Animals ...................................................................................... 9

Whose Baby Hatched? ............................... Animals .....................................................................................14

The Circle of Life ........................................ Life Cycles .................................................................................19

All About Insects ......................................... Insects .......................................................................................21

No Peeking! ................................................. The Five Senses (Sight) ................................................................ 23

Listen & Match ........................................... The Five Senses (Hearing) ............................................................ 24

Texture Twins .............................................. The Five Senses (Touch) .............................................................. 26

Taste Testers ................................................ The Five Senses (Taste) ............................................................... 27

Sniff a Whiff ................................................ The Five Senses (Smell) ............................................................... 30

Foods to Grow On ...................................... Nutrition ................................................................................... 32

Be Healthy! Be Safe! ................................... Health and Safety ....................................................................... 34

Inside a Seed ................................................ Parts of a Seed ........................................................................... 37

Plant Power ................................................. Plant Growth ............................................................................. 39

Living or Not? ............................................. Living and Nonliving Things ...........................................................41

Physical Science

Does It Stick? .............................................. Magnets ................................................................................... 44

Will It Sink or Float? .................................... Buoyancy .................................................................................. 46

Is It Thirsty? ................................................ Absorbency ............................................................................... 48

Shadow Show ............................................. Light and Shadows ...................................................................... 50

Spin a Color................................................. Color Combinations .................................................................... 52

Good Vibrations .......................................... Sound ...................................................................................... 55

Going Up! .................................................... Simple Machines ......................................................................... 57

What’s the Matter? ...................................... States of Matter ......................................................................... 59

Earth Science

Signs of the Seasons ................................... Seasons .................................................................................... 62

Wonderful Wind .......................................... Weather ................................................................................... 64

Water Everywhere! ..................................... Water Cycle .............................................................................. 66

Measuring Weather ..................................... Weather Tools ............................................................................ 70

In the Sky .................................................... Space ....................................................................................... 72

Moon Prints ................................................ Space ....................................................................................... 75

Ready to Rock! ............................................ Rocks ....................................................................................... 77

Earth’s Gifts ................................................ Natural Resources ...................................................................... 78

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Shoe Box Learning C

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Convert a simple shoe box into a wonderful world of discovery to bring out the budding scientists in your students! Children come to

school with a natural curiosity and love for science. From bug watching, puddle splashing, and rock collecting to shadow chasing, snowflake catching, and noise making, kids engage in concrete explorations and discoveries about the world around them every day. The activities in Shoe Box Learning Centers: Science provide hands-on experiences in a ready-to-use format that help children engage in the scientific process while learning key science concepts, skills, and vocabulary.

The 30 portable centers in this book span the life, physical, and earth sciences, with topics that include animal babies, life cycles, the five senses, health and safety, seeds and plants, magnets, light and color, sound, seasons, weather, and more. Each center fits neatly inside a shoe box and can be pulled out as needed and stored conveniently when not in use. When included as part of your science program, these centers help make science concepts concrete and meaningful to children as they investigate, predict, experiment, observe, discover, and share ideas.

Setting Up Shoe Box Learning Centers

T he shoe box centers are simple to set up, and most materials required are either included in this book (as reproducible pages) or are

already available in the classroom. Shoe Box Learning Centers: Science is divided into three sections: Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. The easy-to-follow organization allows you to choose the activities you want to use. Each section includes games and activities that are designed for use by individuals or partners, but can easily be adapted for whole-class lessons or one-on-one teaching. For each center, you’ll find:

22 Label and Directions: The title of each shoe box center becomes the shoe box label—glue it to one side (or end) of the shoe box for easy storage and retrieval. Cut out the student directions and glue to the inside of the lid.

22 Materials: Check this list to find out which items you’ll need for each center. Most materials are readily available, or can be purchased at relatively little expense.

22 Shoe Box Setup: Here’s where you’ll find simple directions for assembling each center. In most cases, all you’ll need to do is gather materials and make copies of the reproducible pages.

About This Book

9

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Materials22 shoe box22 box label22 student directions22 animal-group mats (pages 10–12)22 answer key (page 12)22 animal cards (page 13)

Shoe Box Setup

Copy, color, and cut apart the animal-group mats and animal cards. Cut

out the answer key. Then place the mats, animal cards, and answer key in the shoe box. Glue the label to one end of the box and the student directions to the inside of the lid.

Critter Sort Children sort animals to show understanding of the characteristics of different animal groups.

Life Science: Animals

Directions

Life Science: Animals

22 To introduce this center, discuss the characteristics of the five animal groups: amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles. You might use the lists on the animal mats, sharing other characteristics as desired. Invite children to name animals that belong to each group and tell why they belong.

22 As you model how to complete the center activity, review the list of characteristics on each animal-group mat and name the animal on each card.

22 As children complete the activity, encourage them to note common characteristics among animals that belong to the same group. For example, the crocodile and turtle have scaly skin, the hummingbird and turkey have feathers and lay eggs.

Place the animal cards faceup.

Choose a mat and name the animal group. Read the characteristics of animals in that group.

Find each animal that belongs to the group. Name the animal and place it on the mat.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other animal groups. Keep going until you match each animal to its group.

Use the Answer Key to check your work.

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Critter Sort

squirrel

elephant

Most reptiles:

• have dry, scaly skin

• breathe through lungs

• lay eggs on land

• have babies that look

like the parents

Reptiles

snake

turtle

crocodile

iguana

Most mammals:

• grow fur or hair• breathe through lungs• give birth to live babies• make milk to feed their babies

Mammals

tigerpig

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esourcesCritter Sort • Animal-Group Mats

Most amphibians:

22 have smooth skin

22 are born with gills and develop lungs later

22 can live on land and in water

22 lay eggs in water

Amphibians

Most birds:

22 have feathers

22 have wings and can f ly

22 lay eggs

22 build nests for their eggs

Birds

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Critter Sort • Animal-Group Mats

Most fish:

22 have scaly skin

22 live in water

22 have f ins that help them swim

22 breathe through gills

Fish

Most mammals:

22 grow fur or hair

22 breathe through lungs

22 give birth to live babies

22 make milk to feed their babies

Mammals

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esourcesCritter Sort • Animal-Group Mat and Answer Key

Most reptiles:

22 have dry, scaly skin

22 breathe through lungs

22 lay eggs on land

22 have babies that look like the parents

Reptiles

Answer KeyAmphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles

frog duck goldfish elephant crocodile

salamander eagle seahorse pig iguana

tadpole hummingbird shark squirrel snake

toad pelican swordfish tiger turtle

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Shoe Box Learning Centers: Science © 2012 by Immacula A. Rhodes, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Critter Sort • Animal Cards

frog toad salamander tadpole

duck eagle hummingbird pelican

goldf ish shark swordf ish seahorse

pig tiger elephant squirrel

snake iguana crocodile turtle

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Materials22 shoe box22 box label22 student directions22 activity mat (page 45)22 record sheets (see Shoe Box Setup) 22 strong magnet22 small, magnetic objects (such as a

paper clip, metal spoon, binder clip, flat washer, flat-bottom screw, key ring, and jingle bell)

22 small, nonmagnetic objects (such as a plastic counter, penny, rubber band, ball of foil, cardboard puzzle piece, key, craft stick, and foam shape)

Shoe Box Setup

M ake three copies of the activity mat. Fill in “Predictions” on one copy

(My Predictions), “Results” (My Results) on another, and “Record Sheet” (My Record Sheet) on the third. Laminate the Predictions and Results mats. Copy a class set of the record sheet version. Place the activity mats, magnet, magnetic and nonmagnetic objects, record sheets, and crayons in the shoe box. Glue the label to one end of the box and the student directions to the inside of the lid.

Does It Stick?Children explore the magnetic attraction of a variety of materials.

Physical Science: Magnets

Physical Science: Magnets

22 Read What Makes a Magnet? by Franklyn M. Branley (HarperCollins, 1996), or a similar book.

22 Explain that magnets have an invisible force that attracts metals. Help students understand that not all metal objects are magnetic. A paper clip made of steel wire is magnetic. A penny is not. Paper, plastic, rubber, glass, and wood are also not magnetic.

Take out the activity mats and objects. Place the magnet to the side.

Choose an object with your partner.

22 Predict: Will it stick to the magnet? 22 Decide with your partner. 22 Then place the object under No or Yes on the My Predictions mat.

Repeat step 2 with each object.

Use the magnet to test each object. Did it stick? Move the object to the My Results mat under No or Yes.

Complete a record sheet. Draw and label objects that are not magnetic (No) and that are magnetic (Yes).

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Directions(For partners)

Does It Stick?

45

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Materials22 shoe box22 box label22 student directions22 picture cards and season labels (page 63)22 construction paper

(white, light green, light blue, orange) 22 season mats (see Shoe Box Setup)22 answer key (see Shoe Box Setup)22 page-protector sleeves22 crayons

Shoe Box Setup

Copy, color, and cut apart the picture cards and season labels. Cut the construction

paper into 7-inch circles (one of each color per student). Cut an extra two of each color to make the season mats and answer key. Season mats: Glue the labels to a set of construction-paper circles as follows: Winter, white; Spring, green; Summer, blue; Fall, orange. Answer key: Copy another set of picture cards and prepare an extra set of season mats as above. Glue the picture cards to the corresponding season mats and slip them into page-protector sleeves. Place the season mats, picture cards, supply of colored circles, answer key, and crayons in the shoe box. Glue the label to one end of the box and the student directions to the inside of the lid.

Signs of the SeasonsChildren identify and sort scenes and events related to each season of the year.

Signs of the Seasons

Earth Science: Seasons

Directions

Earth Science: Seasons

22 Review that seasons follow the same cycle every year. Discuss signs of nature related to each season, such as falling snow and hibernating animals (winter), sprouting plants and hatching chicks (spring), maturing animals and blooming trees (summer), and falling leaves and migrating animals (fall).

22 Review the picture cards and the seasons they represent. Discuss hibernation and migration, using the corresponding cards. Point out that not all seasonal changes occur in every area of the country. For example, snow rarely falls in regions far south.

Place the season mats and picture cards faceup.

Sort all the bear pictures into one group. Then sort the remaining cards into groups. There are four cards for each group.

Take one group of cards. Match each card to the mat for its season. Use the Answer Key to check your work.

Repeat step 3 to sort each group of cards.

Make your own season mats. Take a circle of each color. Write the season on each circle. Draw things that go with that season.

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Summer

63Shoe Box Learning Centers: Science © 2012 by Immacula A. Rhodes, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Signs of the Seasons • Picture Cards and Season Labels

Winter Summer

FallSpring